CECEM Labs

Contact: Mehran Rahmani

Contact: Elhami Nasr

Contact: Mehran Rahmani

The CECEM Materials Laboratory provides students an exposure to civil engineering construction materials by providing hands-on experience with materials used in civil engineering and heavy civil design and construction projects. The laboratory also provides an understanding of the similarities and differences among the different materials, and a knowledge of material testing procedures and methodologies. The lab houses the MTS Servohydraulic Dynamic test machine, which is utilized for instructional purposes as well as employed by faculties and students for their research on advanced materials testing (e.g., high-cycle fatigue, materials aging, and fracture toughness).

Major equipment:

• MTS Landmark® servohydraulic dynamic test systems (55-kips capacity with 6-inch stroke)
• Static compression testing machine (up to ½-million-pound force capacity)
• Tinius-Olsen universal static testing machine (up to 60-kips capacity)
• LVDT extensometers/compressometers
• Electric oven
• Asphalt viscometer and vacuum pump
• High precision electronic scales
• Concrete batching tools and slump cones
• Concrete cylinder capping compound caldron and jig
• Concrete tensile splitting jig
• Timber shear test jig
• Flexural test beam support
• Masonry and concrete cutter

Contact: Jin Gi Hong or Pitiporn Asvapathanagul

The Environmental Engineering Laboratory accommodates both teaching and research activities. Collaborative research groups deliver scientific and engineering discovery, assuring sustainability of water resources and energy recovery performance. The lab is divided into the Energy and Membrane Technology Research Group (Dr. Jin Gi Hong) and the Environmental Bioremediation Research Group (Dr. Pitiporn Asvapathanagul).

The Environmental Engineering Lab possesses the competence to analyze water, wastewater, and soil constituents, such as alkalinity, pH, BOD, COD, heavy metals, surfactants, and nitrogen. Molecular biology and culture-based techniques are employed for microbe detection. Electrochemical systems allow for desalting and recycling brine and wastewater and performing energy extraction. 

Research highlights:

• Demineralization of wasted brine
• Energy production using salinity gradients
• Microbial diversity and dynamics in biological water reclamation
• Production of biocementation to improve soil strength
• Compounds of concern (including microplastics), detection in water resources, recovery facilities, and groundwater 

Major equipment:

• Potentiostat
• Electrodialysis module
• Thermocycler
• qPCR machine
• Spectrophotometer for water analysis (Hach DR3900)

Contact: Laurie Huning

Contact: Lisa Star & Amr Morsy

The CECEM Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory supports both instructional and research activities in geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering. The lab provides students with hands-on experience in soil mechanics and geotechnical systems. The laboratory serves as a medium for instructional laboratory and experiments, senior projects, and research.

The lab is equipped with a range of modern testing apparatuses that are used for instructional and research purposes, including the following:

• Triaxial testing system for isotropic compression, monotonic loading, and flexible-wall permeation

• Triaxial testing system for cyclic loading equipped with bender elements and specimen strain transducers

• Direct shear devices (2 ct.)

• Incremental loading oedometers (7 ct.) 

• Constant-rate-of-strain oedometer

• Unconfined compression devices (2 ct.)

• Laboratory vane shear devices (2 ct.)

• Soil-water retention characterization equipment for various matric suction ranges

• Time-domain reflectometry system 

• Soil moisture, potential, and temperature probes 

• Displacement transducers 

• Precision low-flow peristaltic pump

• Tipping bucket rain gauge

• Soil resistivity meters for various matric suction ranges

• Equipment for measuring half-cell potential and oxidation-reduction potential

• Equipment for water chemistry analysis, including chlorides content, sulfates content, and pH levels

• Environmental chamber for soil conditioning at controlled temperature and humidity Ultrasonic bath for degassing or cleaning

• Additionally, the lab is equipped with sample preparation and soil characterization equipment, including scales, ovens, splitters, gradation, Atterberg limits, specific gravity, permeability, and compaction.

The lab is also equipped with geotechnical modeling software for advanced numerical analyses, including the following: 

• Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua (FLAC) 

• Rocscience academic bundle

Contact: Vahid Balali

Major equipment:

• Alienware Laptop (high configuration)
• HTC Vive VR system
• Laser scanner
• Magic Leap VR headset
• Microsoft HoloLens mixed-reality headset
• Oculus Rift VR headset
• Samsung 360 camera

Contact: Vahid Balali

Contact: Shadi Saadeh

Contact: Andrea Calabrese

Contact: Shailesh Chandra